changes to this stock plan?

13 years ago

Hi--We're longtime gardenweb followers who are finally ready to build. We've found a stock plan that has exactly what we are looking for with (we assume) minor changes. We'd like to purchase the plan in some form and get bids from the contractors we've selected. I'll attach a link to the plan.

We have three kids ages 4-8. We'll build on a suburban Wisconsin lot with preserved wetlands to the back/east. The front door of our future home will face west. Our lot is graded for a walkout basement.

We'd like to make the following changes to this plan for practical and economical reasons: reverse the plan and add an attached three car garage to the left/north (no side porch), eliminate skylights and use a truss roof (we don't need the bonus space), add basement stairs and finish the basement later, use french doors from the living room to deck, use windows only in the dining area, build a smaller deck which would extend from the living room only, and use eight foot ceilings on the second floor.

So we'd appreciate any input:

--Do you see any glaring problems with the plan or our planned changes?

--Do you have an opinion about the least offensive way to add an attached three car garage to a beautiful farm house? Our understanding is that grading for a walkout basement means that the garage should not extend behind the house. Our lot is 110 feet wide with 10 foot side setbacks.

--Would our proposed changes mean that we should purchase a CAD file, a PDF set, or a reproducible master?

Many thanks!

Kara

Here is a link that might be useful: houseplans.com 485-1

Comments (10)

athensmomof3
13 years ago
You can have a walk out basement with the garage extending behind the house - we will. Our plans show a step down foundation wall from the garage in the back to the walk out basement. It may be you lose a small portion of your walk out this way (ours is a patio formed by the wall under the screened porch so we weren't planning on walking out that way anyway (it is open on one side).
squarefour
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you athensmomof3. I'll ask the builders about this. Our neighbors with a walk out basement had to bring in extra fill, which was expensive. This was a surprise and had something to do with the soil quality. I think the garage location was intended to minimize that. I appreciate hearing that it is possible to extend the garage behind the house.
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arch123
13 years ago
Kara - love you house plan. I would be careful with the attached garage.
bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
13 years ago
That's a really nice plan and frankly, I don't think there is anyway to ATTACH a garage to it without seriously changing the overall look. A farmhouse style depends in large part on the ratio of height to width of the house. Attach a garage to the side and you change that ratio completely. And a three-car garage is going to be almost as wide as the original house! Instead of a lovely farmhouse, you'll wind up with wide looking so-so two-story pseudo-ranch.

Are you sure you can't live with a detached garage? A barn-styled garage with a gambrel roof set to the side and back of the house would look absolutely lovely with that farmhouse. Particularly if you considered making two of the bays "transom" (where one car parks BEHIND the other) so that the garage/barn isn't so wide.

If you don't want to navigate snow and ice with small kids, consider a semi-detached garage where you run a covered walkway or an enclosed porch between the garage and house. You want the walkway or porch to have a low roof and be an unobtrusive as possible so that the garage and house LOOK like separate buildings. That way you can keep the farmhouse look.

Just my 2 cents
squarefour
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, thank you for the thoughts about the attached garage. We have to agree: the idea of an attached garage is cringe-worthy. My various health problems and Wisconsin winter motivate us to look for some way to stay indoors while moving from garage to house. A barn-style garage tucked to the side and behind sounds like the most complimentary solution. Thank you. We have already talked about an "umbilicus" (enclosed walkway) or siting a garage with a low roofline as far back as possible. We have a budget and a graded lot so we'll have to talk numbers with the builders. I know Field of Dreams 2 has been mentioned on this web site as an example of a farmhouse with attached garage. But it has a screen porch, which changes the look. Please let us know if you have any other examples. Thanks, Kara
creek_side
13 years ago
That plan is for a crawlspace foundation. Changing to a walk-out basement will cost you your entry closet. Tacking a garage onto the side will not help the aesthetics.

I think BevAngel is right. The house will not look right with a garage attached.

I think you should look for another plan entirely. If you have a walk-out lot, start looking for walk-out house plans designed for that kind of property which include an attached garage.

Take a look at the plan I have linked. It's only a two car garage, but it should give you some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: SunPlans Roseburg Cottage 7
homeagain
13 years ago
There is a home a few miles from us very similar to your photo. They have a screened porch connecting the garage to the house. It looks nice and keeps the farmhouse look intact.
3horsefarms
12 years ago
HI Squarefour,
Did you ever build this house? We loved the plan and are looking for a builder in southeast wisconsin (25 acres in Burlington).
Thanks!
jenny.d
11 years ago
Also wondering, Squarefour, if you ever built this? Love this plan!
renovator8
11 years ago
Here is the link

Here is a link that might be useful: link to plans